4-8-2014

Panel
Solar

Mnica
Rosa Andrea Cmez
Mario Alejandro Posada Morales

2014-03834
2014-03640

Index
Introduction

Objetives

Biomes

5
Savanna
Tundra

Prairie

Taiga Biome

Tropical forest biome

Forest biome

9
10

Conclusions

11

Annexes

12

Reference Guide

15

Biomes
Savannas
Parts of Africa, western India, northern Australia, and some parts of South America
are covered by grassland called savanna. They are located in tropical and
subtropical areas near equator and between tropical rain forest and desert biomes.
Because savannas are full of grasses and shrubs, savannas contain a large variety
of grazing animals and the predators that hunt them. Savannas receive little
precipitation all the year. Savannas have a wet season and a dry season. Many
animals of the savanna are active only during the wet season. Grass fires sweep
across the savanna during the dry season and help restore nutrients to the soil.
Plants of the savanna:

Because de rain, the plant need to survive prolonged periods of water.

Tundra
A vast region of cold, mostly treeless lands extending along the entire margin of
the Arctic Ocean. Because of the low temperatures, the ground is frozen (called
permafrost, for permanently frozen ground). During the short summer, only the
uppermost foot (30 cm) or less actually thaws. Under these conditions only the
toughest plants can grow, and the typical tundra vegetation consists of grasses
and shrubs, lacking the taller trees with deeper roots that are so common further to
the South. The photograph on the right shows a low ridge in the tundra in Northern
Alaska, with some willows growing at the edge of a pond. In the background you

can see the Brooks Range, which separates the tundra from the forests (also
called taiga or boreal forests) of interior Alaska.
The tundra during spring is covered with snow. The snow depth ranges from a
few centimeters to as much as a meter.

Vegetation of the Tundra

Mosses and lichens, which can grow without soil, cover vast areas of rocks
in the tundra. The soil is thin, so plants have wide, shallow roots to help
anchor them against the icy winds. Most flowering plants of the tundra, such
as campion and gentian, are short.

Prairie

The prairies were maintained in their natural state by climate, grazing and fire.
Rainfall varies from year to year in the prairies. There is usually a long dry period
during the summer months. Every 30 years or so there is a long drought period
which lasts for several years. The most famous drought was in the 1930s, when
the prairies were called the "Dust Bowl".
The climate of the prairies is influenced by its mid-continental location, and the
sheltering effect of the Rocky Mountains. Being located far from the moderating
effects of oceans causes a wide range of temperatures, with hot summers and cold
winters. Strong winds blow across the endless plains during both summer and
winter.
Every one to five years fire would spread across any given area of land. These
fires moved rapidly across the land and did not penetrate into the soil very far.
They killed most saplings, and removed the thatch of dead grasses, allowing early
flowering spring species to grow.
Vegetation of prairie

Prairie plants have adapted to fires by growing underground storage

structures, and having their growth points slightly below ground surface. The
soil under a prairie is a dense mat of tangled roots, rhizomes, bulbs, and
rootstock. The plants die back every winter, but are kept alive from year to
year by the underground root system. Roots of prairie plants can by longer
than the plant is tall.

Taiga Biome
The taiga its known as boreal forest or coniferous forest, because it has a
particularly characteristic of this biome are forest formations and a combination of
these cool weathers environments. Live in this place is cold and lonely, the
coldness and the food shortages makes that live in this place a very difficult thing
especially in the winter. The wildlife of Taiga hibernate in the winter, some fly
south, while others just stay there to collaborate with the environment.
Taiga is the largest biome of the word, its located near to the top of the world, just
below the tundra biome.
Characteristic

This biome isnt occurs many rainfalls in the year, just a few, and in the
summer time. This creates problems with the wildlife, because of the
sprouts fire in the summer and in the coldest season of the year there are
colds winds that make the life a very difficult thing.

The rich forest began where the tundra ends. In the longest parts of
summer, it could be up to 20 hours of light during the day, but temperatures
can drop and rise sharply over a period of 24 hours.

The quality of the ground is pour, and it doesnt has the nutrients to support
big trees.

The flora and fauna must have extreme adaptation, almost we can't find
animals and plants like others biomes.

Tropical Forest Biome

The Tropical Rain Forest, also known as jungle or rainforest, is the most complex
biome in the world. We can find the tropicals forests near the equator, it has warm
temperatures all year long and its around 80 inches of rain a year. This type of
forest is home of jaguars, toucans, gorillas and even tarantulas. Soem people even
say that Kidzworld founder Allen Achilles lived in a biome in a previous life.
Tropical rainforests have a multilayer structure; the intermediate layer forms a
canopy of intertwined branches.

Characteristics

This biome is characterized by high temperatures throughout the year, with

a daily range of greater than the seasonal temperature range.

The ground of this region is typically latosoles. Chemical weathering is

pronounced due to high rainfall, so the soil profiles are deep and there is
little development of horizons below the surface organic layer.

The tree growth is lush with emergent trees up to 60 m canopy trees up to

30 m or more.

This place have the biggest diversity a comparison of the biomes. There are
thousands of species of trees and you might find a few hundred of them in
relatively small areas.

The animals are active throughout the year and there is a very high
diversity; this leads to that are heavy species interactions.

Forest Biome
The Forests are characterized by having lots of trees and a great diversity of fauna
and flora that makes this biome one of the most important to the biosphere of the
planet. In this biome we can find six types of vegetation: deciduous forest,
evergreen forest, xerophytic forest, coniferous forest, temperate and subtropical
Selva Selva. It has averages temperatures vary ranging between 5.5 and 20.6 C
and annual rainfall is between 400 and 3000 mm depending on the area.
Characteristics

The temperate deciduous forest biome gets lots of rain annually. In the
summer, the masses are cause of polar air in winter, are the result of Arctic
air masses moving south.

Its soil is rich in nutrients, often due to falling leaves and branches that
become natural fertilizer in the soil.

The temperate forest biome has five layers. The soil is home to mosses and
lichens, the turf allows shorter plants grow in the shrub layer are blueberries
and many other forms of plant life, the small tree layer is where young trees
are, the top layer is the tree layer, where the trees from 60 feet.

The long growing seasons in temperate biomes deciduous forests makes

them prime locations for agriculture.

There is variety of animals and plants living in this biome. Birds are also
abundant here, as there are many insects to eat. Some of the types of birds
found in temperate forests are the eagle and cardinal. Some of the smallest
living things, including the scorpion, ants and earthworms.

Conclusions
At this point, you should be quite familiar with the biomes found on Earth. Please
keep in mind that biomes need to be protected, so that animals and plants can stay
living there. Here is a list of various biomes and why they are in danger:
Forests- people burn and clear trees for timber, firewood, and to make way for new
developments. When the trees are cleared, plants and wildlife disappear.
Deserts- people pump water from underground sources to provide moisture for
farming. The natural plants and animals lose their home to the farms.
Grasslands- humans farm the grasslands and replace the grasses with crops. New
plants will not grow since farming takes nutrients from the soil.
Tundra- people are damaging the tundra by driving over it and throwing their
garbage on it. This poisons the plants and animals living there.
Freshwater-humans use water from rivers and lakes to cool machinery in factories.
When this water is released back to the river, it is warm. Water that is warm does
not have enough oxygen to keep plants alive.
Oceans-Over-fishing causes larger animals in the ocean to not have enough food.
Oil drilling becomes a problem when the oil spills into the ocean, killing plants and
animals.
We can all make a difference in protecting these large ecosystems of the world. As
concerned citizens, think of ways that you can do your part in protecting biomes so
that future generations will be able to enjoy them.

Annexes
The world is split up into several biomes but scientists just cant agree on how
many, so we are going to take a look at six major types: Freshwater, Marine,
Desert, Forest, Grassland, and Tundra.
Dessert

Forest

Freshwater

Grasslands

10

Marine

Tundra

11

Reference Guide
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga.htm
http://www.jmarcano.com/nociones/bioma/boreal.html
http://www.biopedia.com/taiga/
http://www.kidzworld.com/article/2115-biomes-of-the-world-forests
http://www.jmarcano.com/nociones/bioma/tropical.html
http://www.agro.uba.ar/users/semmarti/Ecosistemas/biomas/BIOMA%20BOSQUE.ht
m
http://bioenciclopedia.com/bosque/
http://www.biopedia.com/bosques-templados-caducifolios/
http://bioenciclopedia.com/selva/

http://www.nexuslearning.net/books/holt_env_science/6-3.pdf
http://www.arcticworld.net/tundra.htm

12